Show Pics: Junior Boys @ The Mohawk

You could tell who was from Austin at ACL by their reaction to the rain. While I loved seeing the bits of green, yellow and red on the radar Wednesday night, we had an outside show at the Mohawk to hit. Junior Boys were in town and I will freely admit that since I first heard “In the Morning”, I have been a big fan.

The rain fortunately parted sending water from the skies to areas just North and South, leaving a wall of clouds filled with lightning as a backdrop for those on the upstairs patio. And while you could sense the weather kept the crowd down a bit, I think it only kept the lesser fans away as everyone at the Mohawk was way into it.

Egyptrixx opened, more on the show and a few pics after the break…

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Show Pics: The Horrors @ The Parish

The Parish hosted the Horrors last Wednesday night. It was a lovely way to break the ACL hangover. It takes a few days to get over the festival mentality. You have a craving for tall, expensive cans of beer. You constantly check a schedule. You complain about cell service.

What better way to break the cycle than go see a band in a dark, smallish club atmosphere with expensive bottles of beer? Here are pics and few impressions from The Horrors set at The Parish, The Stepkids opened.

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Show Preview: Jacuzzi Boys @ Red 7 (9/23)

Date Friday, Sept. 23rd
Location Red 7
Doors 900p
Tickets Tickets @ the Door

Hopefully you’ve had a minute or two to recover from ACL, or from avoiding ACL, whichever way you see fit, but it’s time to get back into the swing of things. One of the many great shows this weekend is the Jacuzzi Boys, fresh off their release of the excellent Glazin record for Hardly Art.  It’s full of catchy garage pop, the sort that never fails to keep your feet tapping and your head bobbing–maybe even a bit of old school pogo.  It’s going to be an energetic little punk show, so you gotta get out there.  You can all catch, The Act Rights, Elvis, and The Early Stages kicking the show off.  I’ll see you there!

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/JB_CoolVapors.mp3]

Download: Jacuzzi Boys – Cool Vapors [MP3]

Show Preview: Two Gallants @ the Mohawk (9/19)

Date Monday, Sept. 19th
Location Mohawk
Doors 900p
Tickets $12 @ the Door

It’s slightly unfortunate that this show follows the hangover from ACL, as Two Gallants are definitely a great live act, worthy of a measley $12.  But, on the plus side, if you’re looking for some Americana-influenced post-rock, then you might be able to witness a great act without the usual hordes that the band usually gets when they’re in town.  Opening the show will be The Mumlers, so if you didn’t get your fill of rock n’ roll this weekend, then headed over to the Mohawk this evening to make sure you’ve met your quota.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/despitewhatyouvebeentold.mp3]

Download: Two Gallants – Despite What You’ve Been Told [MP3]

Show Preview: Ty Segall @ the Mohawk (9/17)

Date Saturday, Sept 17th
Location Mohawk
Doors 800p
Tickets $10 at the Door

You looking for a show that might not be full of ACL festival goers? Okay, so I can’t promise that, but one of the best shows on Saturday night actually has nothing to do with ACL; it just has to do with good old classic garage rock.  I’ve raved about Ty Segall, and I’ve even posted on the excellent Mikal Cronin, both of whom will be playing at the Mohawk on Saturday night.  If you’re needing your fix of great rock n’ roll, then you need to meet me here for this killer show.  And, you can catch OBN IIIs, the great Austin act while you’re at it.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Ty-Segall-You-Make-the-Sun-Fry.mp3]

Download: Ty Segall – You Make the Sun Fry [MP3]

New Track from Kurt Vile

If you haven’t given a thorough listen to Kurt Vile‘s Smoke Ring for My Halo, then do so now, as you’re really missing out on some kind of wonderful.  Sure, there’s tons of hype, but it truly is justified. If you’ve already gotten into that effort, then you’ll also be happy to know Kurt’s putting out the So Outta Reach EP on Matador Records on November 8th.  If it’s anything like the track below, it’s just going to add on to the damage he’s done to my bank account this year.  Oh, and if you truly dig this and you’re in Austin, Kurt’s an act not to miss at ACL next week.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Kurt_Vile_-_The_Creature.mp3]

Download: Kurt Vile – The Creature [MP3]

The IT Department – v1.0

The trial run went well enough that the IT Department is going into production. Version 1.0 will include some have-to listens, our first repeat guest, some darkwave, a new to me artist and *gasp* a remix or two. People that know me know I hate remixes, so you may not gasp, but I know a few out there will.

Past the break you will tracks from M83, Tunnels, Active Child, Walls (kind of) and more.

So welcome to the next step, welcome to the IT Department V1.0.

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New Track From Pajama Club

How often do we get to mention Crowded House on this website?  Probably never if I had to guess… Well today is the day with a new project and single from Crowded House front man Neil Finn’s new project known as Pajama Club.  This new song “These Are Conditions” will appear on a new self-titled album due out September 13th on on Lester Records.  That beat building throughout the track is just sick nasty.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/These_Are_Conditions.mp3]

Download: Pajama Club – These Are Conditions [MP3]

Crystal Antlers – Two Way Mirror

Rating: ★★★½☆

I’ll be the first to say that I can’t ever get enough of Crystal Antlers in the live setting.  Their energy, the raw power of the vocals and drenched audience just never gets old.  That being said, their recording material has sort of been hit or miss for me.  After an EP and an album, the band return with Two-Way Mirror, and it finally seems that they’re forging new grounding, melding the tightness of their live show with promising recorded material.

“Jules Story” begins the record seemingly where Tentacles left off. There’s that marching drum beat, with killer fills, and Johnny Bell’s vocals scratching at his throat, and your ears. By no means can you consider it a bad track, it’s just not anything exceptionally new. “Seance” is where you’ll find the band branching into slightly new territory.  They’ve included bits of melody that have always bubbled beneath, but this time, they’ve chosen to reveal them, clearing away the excess noise without losing the song’s power.  Bell’s vocals, here, don’t seem as urgent, yet they still beg for your attention; it’s the perfect melding of their live performance and what one looks for in recorded material.

Just because they clean things up, however, doesn’t mean you’re going to lose any of that furious energy they’ve always unleashed.  In the one-two punch of “By the Sawkill” and “Two-Way Mirror” you’ll see that, if anything, the cleaner approach to the recording only allows you to focus more firmly on the explosiveness within the tracks.  In the past, they’ve been too dynamic for their own good, often making it hard for listeners to really focus in, but this isn’t the case on Two-Way Mirror.  You can still here the experimentalism, such as the tinkering of noises while the guitar screamingly crawls through the background at the end of “By the Sawkill.”  Combine that with Bell’s vocal performance on “Two Way Mirror,” and the remarkably drumming, and you’re sure to see that these excellent tracks will transmit perfectly to the live setting.

One of the problems that I found listening to the first record from Crystal Antlers is that the noise eventually bled into the ensuing noise, and tracks became indiscernible.  But, my favorite track from the group lives in the heart of this record: “Fortune Telling.”  It’s easy to pan it as a psychedelic moment, and maybe it is, but it’s excellent.  Bell sounds incredible, and the pacing of the track is perfect, never pushing to quickly.  And, it all moves perfectly into the following track, “Always Afraid.”  It’s probably my favorite moment of the group to date.

Perhaps my past listens to previous Crystal Antlers were too harsh, although I always liked them enough to repeatedly seek them out live.  But, with Two-Way Mirror, the band seems to have discovered the missing link between recording music and being a live animal.  Bits of eloquent noise have quietly been pulled back, revealing a record with sharpness at just about every corner.  It’s clear that the band still wants to push themselves, and that’s great, as long as they keep offering up the exact recipe they used during this session.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Crystal-Antlers-Summer-Solstice.mp3]

Download: Crystal Antlers – Summer Solstice [MP3]

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